The Lady, She is DONE!

Oh, Happy Day! While I enjoyed every moment with my Lady Eleanor Shawl (from Interweave Press, "Scarf Style"), I am so happy to have her to wear and to hold and to fondle. She is everything I had hoped for - dramatic, classy, warm, soft and a true statement piece. That statement is, "I have arrived and I am a knitter - got a problem with that, punk?"

The fringe is outta control cool. The diamonds that the knots form, perfectly echos the diamonds created by the entrelac pattern. Whoever dreamed up this pattern is absolutely brilliant. The book suggests thick tassels as an alternative to the fringe. I think that idea is hogwash and should be ignored completely. The ache in my back from hunching over these endless knots was totally worth it!

I think I should get some outrageous fused glass shawl pin - wouldn't that be glamorous? Or maybe too much.... hum.

This is me trying on my best cool and glamorous expression. I plan to adopt this facial expression when I, someday, travel to New York wearing this shawl. Can't you see me as the hip urbanite having an espresso at a sidewalk cafe or some such?

Stats: Noro #243, 10 skeins plus just a few yards extra. #10.5 Denise needles. Started in June and finished in September (My longest knit, ever!)

The Lady E has consumed most of my knitting time the last week and half or so. I have made a bit of progress on the Tangled Fields of Gold, though. The garter ribbing was a bit tricksy for me. I kept making mistakes and froggin back half rows and even an occasional whole row. We are at the stockinette/increase portion now and things are going smoothly and a lot faster. I can't wait for the joining of the sleeves (already done, yea!) and all that fascinating new stuff (new for me, anyway). I've been reading ahead in the pattern and there are quite a few things I can't visualize. I am trusting that all will become clear when I get there.

Going from Process to Project

Ah, my Lady E. So lovely, so luxurious, so delectable, so.... long.

I have never been a process knitter, per se. I want the product and I want to acquire the skill, but the actual knitting is mostly a pleasant byproduct, not the point.

Until the Lady E. Oh, the colors, the texture, the constant surprise of the unfolding mosaic. 7 stitches forward, 7 stitches backward, 7 times. The symmetry is poetic, the rhythm is tranquility itself. This is a process to be savoured.
(By the way, knitting backward on this project is must. Here's a tutorial How To Knit Backward)

But lately there has been a teasing chill to the air. A hint that My Lady could be worn, and impart just a touch of stylish warmth. I want her to be done.

I return as a product knitter. Hear me purrr.

My First True Blog Post

I am never one to turn away from the tide of the lemmings. I delude myself, now and again, into believing that I am independent thinker, forging a new and exciting direction that will lead to no less than peace and prosperity in the Middle East.... and then I knit a caliometry - just because everyone else is doing one.

I create this blog because is efficient - record it once, document it once, link to it a thousand times. (linking to a thousand boards - no wonder I knit so slow!) I like to write and I think it might be instructive to refer back to where I have been.

Eh, voila! This is what I am thinking and knitting right now.

First, I received my very first shipment from WEBS. I have so much guilt over not getting more wool from my LYS - but who can turn down Silky Wool at these prices? I admit it. I am a yarn whore. Or very Chinesey, take your pick. So, this gorgeous stuff:












will someday be this:

On the lemmings note I am knitting coachella from knitty. In my defense, I had this amazing Bamboo from Suss that was begging for a project just like this - flowing, drapey and a tad incendiary. I name this the Silver Slink. This is going like crazy on my #9 Audi Naturals. Here where we are on day 3

I am holding a double strand of this shimmery dk weight stuff together. I got stitch gauge, but not row gauge, so I am trying to be mindful of these consequences. So far, so good. I am knitting size small that should fit to a 36 and I am a 40, due to many suggestions out in web land. When I tried it on it seems to fit great - just a smidge too low, but I think I can live with it.

Last, I got some work done on my beloved Lady E. (Lady Eleanore from Scarf Style) She is slow going, but steady. I love the colors, the texture, the mindfulness of the small squares and the constant surprise of the next color. What a wonderful mosaic is unfolding! Lady E is my meditation and my calm. She is the project I can go to for instant gratification of a small square done and the never ending wonderment that an object so beautiful and artful can come from my
fingers.